Page:Cousins's Short Biographical Dictionary of English Literature.djvu/270

 258 Dictionary of English Literature

and ed. at Merchant Taylors' School and Oxf. He took orders, was Reader in Theology at Magdalen Coll. 1855, Bampton Lecturer 1858, Prof, of Ecclesiastical History 1867, and Dean of St. Paul's 1869. Among his writings are Prolegomena Logica (1851), The Limits of Demonstrative Science (1853), Man's Conception of Eternity (1854), Limits of Religious Thought (1858), Philosophy of the Conditioned (1866). He was also joint ed. of Sir. W. Hamilton's Lectures.

MAP, OR MAPES, WALTER DE (ft. 1200). Ecclesiastical

statesman and romancist. Most of the facts about him are gleaned from his De Nugis Curialium (Of the Trifles of the Courtiers), a mis cellany of contemporary notes and anecdotes, throwing much light on the manners and opinions of the Court of Henry II. He was b. probably in Herefordshire, and had Celtic blood in his veins, his /. had rendered service to the King, and he had studied at Paris, and on his return attended the Court, where he found favour, and obtained pre ferment both in Church and State, and in 1173 was a travelling justice. Thereafter he attended the King, probably as chaplain, on his foreign wars, represented him at the French Court, and went to Rome to the Lateran Council of 1 179. After the death of Henry II. he seems to have continued in favour under Richard I. and John, and was Archdeacon of Oxf. in 1196. M. is the reputed author of some at least of the Golias poems, rough satires on the vices of the clergy, but his great work, which has influenced the future of English literature, was his systematising and spiritualising the Arthurian legends with additions of his own, including the legends of Launcelot, of the Quest of the Holy Grail, and of the Morte d' Arthur.

MARKHAM, GERVASE (i568?-i637). Translator and mis cellaneous writer, served as a soldier in the Low Countries and Ire land. Retiring into civil life about 1 593 he displayed extraordinary industry as a translator, compiler, and original writer. Among his original writings are a poem on the Revenge (1595) (Sir R. Grenville's ship), a continuation of Sidney's Arcadia, The Discourse of Horse- manshippe (1593), The Young Sportsman's Instructor, Country Con tentments (1611), and various books on agriculture; also plays and poems, some of the latter of which are religious.

MARLOWE, CHRISTOPHER (1564-1593). Dramatist, s. oi

a shoemaker at Canterbury, where he was b., was ed. at the King's School there, and in 1581 went to Benet's (now Corpus Christi) Coll., Camb., where he graduated B.A. 1583, and M.A. in 1587. Of his life after he left the Univ. almost nothing is known. It has, however, been conjectured, partly on account of his familiarity with military matters, that he saw service, probably in the Low Countries. His first play, Tamburlaine, was acted in 1587 or 1588. The story is drawn from the Spanish Life of Timur by Pedro Mexia. Its re sounding splendour, not seldom passing into bombast, won for it immediate popularity, and it long held the stage. It was followed in 1604 by Faustus, a great advance upon Tamburlaine in a dramatic sense. The absence of " material horror " in the treatment, so different in this respect from the original legend, has often been remarked upon. M.'s handling of the subject was greatly admired by Goethe, who, however, in his own version, makes the motive knowledge, while M. has power, and the mediaeval legend pleasure.